Alice Water's Blueberry Cobbler Recipe

Alice Waters’ Blueberry Cobbler (Chez Panisse Style)

Some desserts try to impress with layers, frostings, and fancy finishes.

Alice Waters’ blueberry cobbler goes the other way. It’s simple, seasonal, and all about great fruit. The filling is mostly blueberries with just enough sugar to bring out their flavor, and the topping is a rustic biscuit dough that bakes up golden with tender, creamy layers. This is the kind of dessert that feels right for a weeknight, a weekend lunch, or a dinner party where the food is meant to taste like the season.

Cobbler, in general, is fruit baked in a dish with a batter or biscuit-style topping. It’s not meant to look perfect. The messy edges and bubbling juices are part of the charm.

Why This Cobbler Works So Well

This version (often called Chez Panisse’s Blueberry Cobbler) keeps the ingredient list short and the method straightforward. The blueberries are tossed with sugar and a small amount of flour, which helps the juices thicken as they bake.

Then comes the topping: flour, baking powder, salt, a little sugar, cold butter, and heavy cream. The butter gets cut in until it looks like coarse meal, which is classic biscuit technique and gives that tender, slightly craggy finish.

The final detail that makes it feel “Chez Panisse” is the balance. The recipe uses a relatively modest amount of sugar for a big dish of fruit, so the blueberries still taste like blueberries, not blueberry candy.

Ingredients You’ll Need

This is the ingredient list widely shared for the Chez Panisse version of the cobbler.

For the blueberry filling

• 4 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

For the biscuit topping

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

• 3/4 cup heavy cream (plus more for serving, if wanted)

How to Make Alice Waters’ Blueberry Cobbler

1) Preheat and prep the fruit.

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Toss the blueberries with the sugar and the tablespoon of flour. The flour helps the filling set up so it turns saucy instead of watery.

Tip: Blueberries can vary a lot in sweetness. If they taste very tart, it’s fine to bump the sugar slightly. If they’re super sweet and ripe, the original amount usually works well.

2) Make the biscuit dough.

In a bowl, mix the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. Cut in the cold butter until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Then add the cream and mix lightly, just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Overmixing can make the topping tough, so keep it gentle.

Food blog jargon note: This dough is basically a drop-biscuit style topping. It’s meant to be rustic, not rolled and perfect.

3) Assemble.

Spread the blueberries in a 1 1/2-quart baking dish (a gratin dish works well). Shape the dough into small patties about 2 to 2 1/2 inches wide and about 1/2 inch thick, then lay them over the fruit. There’s no need to cover every inch. Little gaps are good because the berry juices bubble up around the edges.

4) Bake until bubbling and golden.

Bake until the topping is browned and the juices are bubbling thickly, about 35 to 40 minutes. Let it cool slightly before serving.

Pro tip: Set the baking dish on a sheet pan in the oven. Cobblers can bubble over, and a sheet pan saves the oven floor.

The Best Blueberries for Cobbler

Fresh blueberries are the standard here, and they really shine when they’re in season. Look for berries that are plump, deep-colored, and fairly uniform. If the berries are a bit mixed (some sweet, some tart), the cobbler still works because the biscuit topping and cream balance everything out.

If frozen blueberries are the only option, the cobbler can still be made, but the filling may be juicier. Tossing the berries with the flour helps, and baking until the juices look thicker and less watery matters even more.

Serving Ideas

This cobbler is best served warm. A few classic options:

• Vanilla ice cream (the cold-meets-hot combo is hard to beat)

• Lightly sweetened whipped cream

• A splash of cold heavy cream poured over the top

And yes, cobbler for breakfast is a real thing. Warm a spoonful and serve it with plain yogurt. It turns into that sweet-tart, creamy situation that feels like a treat but still kind of practical.

Easy Variations (Without Losing The Chez Panisse Vibe)

One of the nice things about this style of cobbler is how flexible it is. The method stays the same, and the fruit can change with the season. Stone fruit like peaches or nectarines pairs well with blueberries, and it keeps the filling from leaning too one-note.

A few simple twists that still feel on-brand:

• Add lemon zest to the berries for a brighter flavor

• Swap a portion of blueberries for blackberries or raspberries

• Sprinkle a pinch of coarse sugar on the biscuit topping before baking for extra crunch (not traditional to this exact version, but very common in home kitchens)

Storage and Reheating

Cobbler is at its best the day it’s baked, but leftovers keep well.

• Store covered in the fridge.

• Rewarm in the oven so the biscuit topping crisps back up.

• The microwave works in a pinch, but the topping will stay softer.

If the filling looks looser on day two, that’s normal. Fruit desserts tend to relax as they sit.

A Final Note

Chez Panisse is famous for treating ingredients as the star, with an emphasis on seasonal produce and simple cooking that lets flavors come through. That’s exactly what this cobbler delivers: good berries, a tender topping, and zero fuss.

It also fits beautifully into a relaxed, thoughtful food routine. A warm serving of blueberry cobbler pairs just as well with a cup of coffee after dinner as it does with matcha earlier in the day, when the sweetness is kept in check, of course. Those kinds of pairings turn a simple dessert into part of a slower, more intentional meal.

There’s also something practical here. Using seasonal fruit and a short ingredient list makes this dessert easier on the grocery budget. Blueberries bought in peak season cost less, taste better, and don’t need much added to them. Recipes like this are a perfect example that saving money on groceries usually comes down to cooking simply, wasting less, and just giving ingredients the space to do their good work.